Here are a few more pictures for those that are visual learners! Wy

                                        Language Class in our carport.

                                      Kitchen

                                     Living Room

                          The flower and leaves to treat cancer

                    Hibiscus flower used for high blood pressure

                 The leaves of this flower are used to fight congestion.
  You can grind them up and add water to make nasal drops to make you sneeze.

Life, Language and Culture

Its another beautiful day here in Kisumu!  We really do like the weather.  Its just when we're in town or somewhere in direct sun that we get so hot.  When we're in our house or in the shade its quite comfortable.  Mornings are nice and cool.  I often wear a sweater for the beginning of language class.  Shonda, Vanessa, and Bradlyn are at the pool right now with Tommy's children.  Judith and Charity took them out there while Wayne and I and Clarissa were in language class.  So its nice and quiet... and a relief to know that language is done for the day! :)  

  On Sunday eve. the unit was invited to Joseph and Becky's house for a farewell for Marlin Weavers.  We sat out in the lawn and after dark Joseph used a slide projector that shone up on the wall of their house.  He showed us pictures of their furlough time in America.  So you see when we're in America we look at slides of Kenya and when we're in Kenya we watch slides from America! :)  We were surprised to see a nice picture of Grossdauddy and Sanford and Laura!  Becky and Laura are first cousins and Grossdauddy and Josephs attended the same church. There were beautiful pictures of the Big Valley in Belleville.  Wow!  Everything looks so green and orderly!  We enjoyed the evening with the unit.  These people are becoming more dear every day.  When I look around and think about who all plans to leave within the next year, it makes me very sad. :(  But I guess changes are just part of life here and the sooner we accept that the better.  

Monday morning found all the pastors and their wives, (except for Marjie, who was sick) :( headed for Rondo Retreat... located in the Rain Forest about an hour and  half from Kisumu.  Rondo is a very lovely place where the staff take care of you hand and foot.  Its very American and just a wonderful place to relax.  The weather was so perfect that we all sat outside for our meetings.  The men in one meeting and the ladies in the other.  By the way, our children stayed home with the single ladies in the compound.  I think they really enjoyed the day too.  We ladies had a time of sharing whatever inspiration we had and then we were served drink and mandazis. ( the best we ever had!) We also spent some time discussing upcoming events... such as joint unit meeting with Nakuru next week.  These scheduled events are carefully planned and very organized.  As we were sitting in our circle I was able to watch the monkeys in the trees!  They were all over the place!  So MUCH FUN to watch! :)  After our meetings Wayne got within about 4 ft. of one of them.  They don't seem to be very shy.  

 After being served a good lunch we ladies relaxed for a little while in the house.  Its beautifully furnished with nice, soft seats! The men were playing can jam and bocce ball.  It was fun to see them having such a good time.  We bounced and jolted our way home again that afternoon.  Some of the roads were BAD... it was such a relief whenever there was a relatively smooth section.  We saw a weird parade of some kind in one of the small villages.  It gave us the "creeps".  Our van was basically surrounded by people who were dressed very weird.  The youth had costumes made of skins with putches of grass and I think some had horns.  Some of the men had monkey skin hats. They were marching and beating a rhythm on a long board. It appeared to be some kind of cultural ritual that may have "dark" connections.  It was a relief to get out of there.  Tommy warned us not to take pictures as that can make people mad and cause them to "mob".  
  Language class started on Tues. I usually get up soon after 5:30 so I have time to start laundry and make chai (chae in luo).  I was so happy the first time I made chae and our teacher really liked it!  She said someone taught me well.  Thank you Cynthia! I also like to do my homework mornings when my mind is clearer. Our first day was 6 hrs. long and by the time we were done I was almost in tears and felt like my brain had major overload.  We decided that was enough of that!  4 hrs. a day is plenty long enough!  We are thankful that our teacher was ok with letting us do less in one day.  She was almost falling asleep herself the first day!  Josephine (our teacher) is a professional language teacher from Nairobi.  She teaches English, Swahili, and Luo.  She does a good job and we like her quite well. We get sidetracked sometimes while she teaches us things about Luo culture.  She says that the Luo people came from Egypt. They followed the Nile River until they came to Lake Victoria and then they settled around the lake.  There are Luos in Kenya, Uganda, Sudan, and Tanzania.  Josephine says that Luo is easier to learn than Swahili. There are quite a few words that Luos have borrowed from Swahili.  When folks come to our house they say "Odi" which means "knock knock" or "Hodi" in Swahili.  We then say "Karibu" (welcome) which is Swahili.  Another popular word is "pole sana"(sorry). Its amazing how many things are similar. Today we learned that the Luo word for medicine (yath) is the same word as tree (yath).  I noticed Wayne made a note saying, "The medicine for our soul (Jesus) hung on a tree."  So I guess he is getting ideas for messages even in language class! :)  Josephine showed us a number of plants in our lawn that have medicinal value.  The hibiscus flower is good for high blood pressure when it is dried and put into drinks.  A pretty white flower that we have is good for cancer.  It works like chemo.  Another bush we have is used especially for babies when they have stuffy noses.  It makes them sneeze and get rid of the mucous.  Interesting!!!!!  Before the arrival of the msungu (white man), the Luo's got their medicine from trees and plants, which is probably why the word for tree and medicine is the same.

 Yesterday morning Wayne and I stood at our gate and waved at Marlin Weavers as they drove out of the compound on their way to the airport. Tommys drove them to Nairobi!  It was SAD to see them go.  We connected well with them even though we were only here a short time. 
 Here our children are waiting for the lady in the chair to make us some chapatis (African tortilla).  Its so handy to have them just down the road a bit from the compound.   Chapatis are so good leftover too.  We like to fry them til they are a bit crisp then eat them with fresh salsa.

 Here is a picture of our dining room...my favorite spot in the house.  Marla I think of you when I see this flower arrangement.  Its the only nice flower in the house and even though it gets dusty and I have to clean it... its such a bright spot for me and reminds me of home.  So glad I got it at your yard sale!!  :)

Our kitchen is nothing great but I'm hoping I will learn to love it someday. :)  The writing on the wall says... "There is always, always, always something to be thankful for! :)  So true!!
            Thank you for your prayers,  
                                                   Clara

TOUCHES OF HOME

Good afternoon!  Its another warm day in Kisumu but not as hot as some days.  We have been blessed with some rain lately and oh what blessed relief that brings from the heat and dust!  Mornings are always nice and sunny though and a great time to do laundry.  

  As I was saying in my last letter, we are in a total different world here and sometimes it would have felt SO good to just have a touch of home... something that felt the same as home sweet home.  God was gracious in giving us that on Thurs. eve. when all the compound families met at Dean and Barbara Jeans house for prayer meeting.  We spent a good part of the evening singing and oh it was lovely!! I almost cried when the first song was sung because it was so beautiful singing English together and it sounded like home!  :)  It was a very good evening of getting to know people better here.  The hard thing for me was when I looked around at the group and realized that, Lord willing, most of these dear folks will be leaving within a year. :(  There will be big changes here and people are saying that we will soon be the veterans. I'm NOT looking forward to that... we are so new here yet and it feels like it will take years to learn all the ropes.  On Fri. morning I was blessed with another "touch of home" when all the ladies went together to Java House for breakfast in honor of Darla Weaver, who is heading back to America this week.  Java House is a very nice restaurant located in something like a mall that looks very American.  The contrast between rich and poor here is almost staggering. Seems there should be a middle road but it doesn't work that way obviously.  Friday afternoon Jason and Cynthia and their family took us out to visit several more church families.  We were definitely out in the "bush".  We had to walk a ways to get to one of the homes.  We crossed a "treacherous" bridge made of sticks.. its amazing what these people can do!  Cynthia said they even cross that bridge (when it was in better repair) with a piki piki (motorcycle)!!  That blows my mind cause we had to step very carefully over small logs that would suddenly "roll" on you, etc. 

I love the little groups of children who often come to gaze at the mzungu (white people).  We often hear children hollering "mzungu, mzungu" when we are passing by.  They seem to be amazed at our white skin and we're amazed at how black they are. :)  Our church people are located in the "interior" close to the area that Ken Miller and Gene Beachy were beaten.  Its not always a very safe feeling to be out in those areas and away from anything familiar but I suppose with time it will become familiar and feel safe.  We are learning more and more Luo words and are beginning to recognize our church family and remember names.  I definitely felt more "into" it this Sun. than I did last Sun.  These people will be easy to love I think!  I like the way they often say "Amen" in church and sometimes just break into singing while giving a testimony.  Its a relaxed atmosphere... maybe too much sometimes. :)  Bradlyn likes to play in the dirt during church. :(  I was so happy that he went along to Sunday school this time and even stood up front afterwards when the children shared their song and verse!  Carolyn Rodes comes to church with us and does a great job with the children.  On the way home today we had 23 people packed into our small van!  Talk about HOT and SMELLY!  But we survived and when we arrived home we did not find a monkey on our roof but we saw a big blue lizard in the hedge. Wonder what we will see next Sunday?  We see the most amazing sights.... cows on the streets in town, goats everywhere, and I love all the tuk tuks!  They are the cutest little 3 wheeled cycles with kind of like a canvas covering I think.  They are everywhere and maybe someday I will ride to Nakumatt in one if they don't make me pile in with a bunch of other people. 

  We are still struggling with our hot water issue.  We have enough hot water for about 1 shower and then it quits and the rest of us are out of luck. The plumber was here yesterday but the problem is not fixed so I guess we just keep on heating water for the little ones and the rest of us need to take cold showers or go to Rachel's house or heat water... it doesn't hurt us anything but oh...... to those of you who enjoy nice warm showers with nice pressure every day... please don't EVER take it for granted!!!!!!!!!!!!  :)  We can learn a lot from these Africans.  They don't waste anything!  In fact I just found out the other day that even our trash that is hauled out of the compound here is dug through by natives who are searching for bottles or anything else they can salvage.  We are SO blessed!!  It helps put things into perspective a bit when you come to a place like this and realize what all we have taken for granted all our lives.  

  This evening we are all invited to Josephs house for the evening.  We are all expected to take some food.  I'm still having a bit of  a struggle finding my way with cooking here so wasn't sure what to  take but finally decided to slice up some oranges and take a plate of cake that Carolyn sent home with us after lunch today.  I'm thinking now that I may not pursue making bread here afterall since my oven is unpredictable and Judith found some bread for us at Nakumatt that resembles homemade bread and my children seem fine with it!  PTL!!!!  Such a relief since I don't think I will have time for bread making.  It only costs 55 shillings and I don't think I could make bread for that price.  Wayne has been driving a bit more lately and getting used to these roads.  Its still scary and a challenge but he's doing well and has been studying maps.  Driving here still causes me to pray and its hard to keep from gasping when there is a close call but God is good and blesses with safety time and time again.  Please continue to pray!  This week looks very full.  Tomorrow all the pastors and wives plan to spend the day at Rondo Retreat.  The children will stay here with the single ladies.  Tues. our language classes start and I think school starts on Wed.  Don't know when you will hear from us again.  We appreciate ya'll so much and rely heavily on your prayers.  We can't thank God enough for blessing us with peaceful sleep at night in spite of the loud music and drums and Muslim prayer calls that we hear so much.  I think we're learning to tune these things out.  Have a blessed eve.   Clara

Brad and a "Weaver" carrying a bench after church.

Harvest Offering.  I was challenged by their sacrificial giving; especially the one widow's gift.

Pictures of our Journey

Amsterdam to Nairobi 747-400











Nairobi to Kisumu Toyota

 Unpacking in our living room

Crossing a shamba to visit Benter and Wellington

Playing on a dirt pile at Jacobs. What Fun!!

Lake Victoria at the Yacht Club last eve.

     

Sunrise 6:42 this morning on the way to the house dedication

Raising the temporary house.

Tilapia and Ugali for lunch!! It was good! :)

This is just a glimpse of our journey.  Today Jason and I went to a house dedication.  This was a very important occaision in Luo culture.  The son was moving out of his mothers compound and building the first house in his own compound.  There is normally a lot of tradition and superstition surrounding occasions like this.  Things are to be done in a certain way or the "spirits of the ancestors will haunt you and make trouble for you".  Pray for Charles and Maurine.  Charles was a member years ago and fell away.  Maurine is currently on her way back to the church.  Pray for her restoration.  They chose to break with Luo culture and not carry the rooster, the axe and the machete across the threshold of their new house but to dedicate it with prayer instead.  He also did not eat with the elders as he was supposed to; but with his hired help, which caused some rebuke, and "you will die in a bad way" from one of his elders.  I'm not sure how much of it was serious.  Thank you so much for your prayers we have felt them and desperately need them.  

 Time to get ready for Prayer Meeting.  More later, Wayne

Culture Shock!!

Hello from Kisumu!  Its another hot, dry, day here and the dust just flies!  It seems impossible to keep things clean so you just kind of give up after awhile.  We compound ladies helped clean the school this morning and believe me!!! You have never seen such a dirty school!  There was a thick layer of dust over everything so it took a good bit of elbow grease.  It was nice getting to know the ladies here a bit better but also really made me homesick for my dear friends at home. We've been feeling culture shock the last few days. I thought Shonda summed it up pretty well last eve. when she said that NOTHING is the same as at home!  It seems like it would help if some things would feel the same but I totally agree with her... we are in a total different world.  And I won't pretend that its all adventure and fun... cause it sure isn't!!!!!!  I think the children, especially Vanessa and Bradlyn are doing well although Brad still likes to stay close to Mom and Dad sometimes.  Clarissa and Shonda do well but I think they miss home too.  I really hope they will enjoy school... that will make such a difference for them. 

  I read something in in a devotional this morning that was a real help to me.  It said, "Accept each day just as it comes to you.  Do not waste your time and energy wishing for a different set of circumstances. Instead, trust Me enough to yield to my design and purposes. Remember that nothing can separate you from my loving Presence; you are Mine."  I'm afraid I don't do too well in accepting some things as they are... for example, its terribly hard to be content with my stove and oven!  I have 2 gas burners that "work" and 1 electric burner that takes real long to heat up.  Sometimes I have to stand for a long time holding the knob in so that the flame will stay there for me.  I have to release it very slowly and hope and pray that it will stay lit.  I tried making bread yesterday because my children hate this bought stuff.. but it was a disaster.  It was beautiful on top but the bottom was far from done.  Its still edible but looks terrible.  I don't plan to give up right away though cause I've got to have something they like to eat around here.  I think there are very few ladies who bake bread here.  We made some pumpkin bread too and thank God that turned out nice.  

  Some of you wondered what kind of washer I have.  Its actually a pretty nice, push button, automatic washer but it takes a long time for the water to come in and I also like to save water by dipping out the rinse water and saving it for the next load.  Wash dries very quickly here since there is little humidity so thats a blessing.  I also hang our dresses up wet to save on ironing.  It all just takes time so I started doing several loads every day.  One adjustment for me is that my laundry and wash line area is far from private.  People go by every day to get water behind our house and of course Rachel lives in the servant quarters behind our house.  I don't mind that though... Rachel is so sweet.  I'm sad that she's leaving in Dec. A native man, George, comes every day to bring water for the compound from a well.  On Mondays our carport is occupied all day with native ladies who come here for sewing classes.  I'm responsible to give them plates and utensils when they want to eat lunch and also keep them supplied with drinking water.  Would be so nice to be able to communicate with them better.  I'm learning some of the greetings etc. but I still have a long way to go.  

  On Tues. Wayne and I went with Jason and Cynthia and their children to visit 3 of our church members at their homes.  Our children stayed here... we knew it would be a long day for them.  It takes time to visit... these people are not in a hurry and we don't want to offend them by hurrying off.  We always stand for a prayer before we are seated in their house.  The houses are made of mud and cow manure mixed together and they keep them nice and clean.  Its a bit dark inside though and if someone is sitting in a corner sometimes I can only see the whites of their eyes and their teeth. :)  My "sitter" has been very sore sometimes since we came.  We're soft Americans I guess who need to get used to uncomfortable positions.  They pack people in vehicles and on couches.  Oh I get SO HOT sometimes and any little breeze is such a blessing.  I must be getting old too because I have a hard time staying awake sometimes when we're sitting for so long in the same position.  Yesterday we went to a native home for prayer meeting and Bible study.  We were packed into a small, hot house but the fellowship was still a blessing.  We had an interpreter.  Afterwards the ladies went outside and were served mandazis and nyoyo ( a mixture of corn and beans)  as well as chai.  The mandazis were quite good!  I was sitting at a small, low table with 5 other ladies who were chattering away in Luo.  Barely caught a word they said.  But I would just smile at them and I guess that is all I can do for now til i learn the language.  We can pretty well sing along with them when they sing.  The words are easy to pronounce... quite a bit like Kekchi was in Belize.  Our language class starts next Tues. You can really pray for us!  People seem to feel sorry for us when they hear our classes are starting.  Sounds like its far from easy and also hard to find time to get housework done. :(  

    Last eve. Tonys took us down to Lake Victoria.  Actually Wayne drove.... Tony thought he should.  I think it kind of freaked Wayne out... but he did well except for hitting a speed bump too hard one time that he hadnt seen til too late.  I bumped my head on the ceiling! :)  He also turned on the windshield wipers instead of turn signals... since everything is on the opposite side than we're used too.  I don't know if I'll ever get used to this driving on the "wrong" side business!!!!  Tommy and Marji joined us at the lake too.  I like Marji so much!  Don't know what I would do without her and Cynthia and Judith!  They have all been so helpful!  

  Wayne and Jason are out visiting native homes again today.  They left early this morning since one of the natives is getting ready to build a new house and wanted the pastor to pray at the dedication.  

  Many thanks to all who have sent notes of encouragement to us!  We appreciate it so much and I wish I'd have time to respond to all of you!  Thanks so much to all who have prayed that we could sleep!  God is so good and Wayne and I are both sleeping well!  Wayne sleeps better than he did at home!  I'm so thankful that I haven't needed pills!  But please continue to pray... language is coming up as well as more stressful times!  We appreciate ya'll and miss you like crazy!!  Clara

Youth Outing

Howdy! I just thought I'd write about my day yesterday. I went along with the youth to help a native man harvest his corn.. We left around 8:30 in the morning and traveled about an hour to the man's shamba (garden). I really had no idea what we were actually going to be doing but I soon found out! When we got there, a few men were busy chopping the corn by hand  and putting the stalks on piles. Our job was to take the ear of corn off the stalk and husk it. The husks were sharp though, and Charity was cut badly by the husk. She was pulling against another girl and the husk slipped and slashed three fingers on her right hand! The cut on her middle finger was rather deep and all three fingers bled for a good while. Thankfully she did not pass out or anything! Anyway, once we had done enough corn, we went to Mark and Mary Ellen Beachy's house for lunch. The way we got there was rather interesting!:) Me and two other girls rode on top of the van for the 15-20 minute drive. It was lots of fun being able to see out across the country, and the people we drove past really waved and shouted at us.. They probably wondered what in the world these white girls were doing on top of the van!:) Mark Beachy's do not live in the compound; instead, they live out with the people. Once we got there, we ate an American lunch of hamburgers and hotdogs. It was very tasty! After doing the dishes we went and played volleyball for a few hours.  It was fun but it did make me miss not seeing the home folks!  After having cookies, popcorn, and tea in the late afternoon, we headed home. The sunset last night was beautiful! We got to see it on the way home. It was after six when we got back. Well, there is more I could write about our day today and so forth but I think I will let mom do that later. Clarissa

New Beginnings!!

Where shall I begin? So much had happened in the last week that that its about enough to make a person dizzy!  Our lives have changed drastically in such a short time. I think most of you know the story of our awful mistake at the airport so I guess I won't go into detail about that. Suffice it to say we learned our lesson very well and don't expect to ever be late for a flight again unless there are circumstances beyond our control.  I relived the whole nightmare so many times... it was horrible.  I had to think of how it would be to stand before God someday and have the door slammed in your face. That would be SOOOO much worse than missing a flight!  When we finally accepted the fact that we could do absolutely nothing about the situation we decided to make lemonade out of the lemons we experienced. :)  We really enjoyed the opportunity to rest at out motel suite that evening and the children had a blast swimming in the pool. A shuttle took us to Chick-fil-a for supper that eve.  We had a pretty good night and were back at the airport early the next morning.  I was kind of dreading a long day at the Atlanta airport..  our flight to Amsterdam wasn't scheduled until 5:50 that eve.  The day didn't seem very long though because there were so many people to watch and we found some really good places to sit where there was a good view of the runway, etc.  Its the busiest airport in the world so there was lots of action. I had a terrible thing happen to me that day though... it was another nightmare for me and almost caused another panic attack like I had the day before.:(  I had been trying so hard to keep very good track of my purse since there was a lot of cash in there but one time when I went to the ladies restroom I left it in the stall!!!!!!!  When I got back to our gate I suddenly realized what I had done and I ran back to the restroom in a panic.  I knocked on the door of the stall I had been in and asked the lady if there was a purse in there.  She immediately opened the door for me and showed me that it was NOT there.  I was so horrified and didn't know what in the world to do. But then another lady heard us talking and said she had heard an announement about a missing hand bag that was taken to gate F3.  I was so relieved that I gave the lady a hug and then took off for gate F3.  Before I ever got there I saw the purse sitting on a counter behind the ticket agent.  She handed it to me without any questions and then I began thanking God!!  After that I expected anything to happen.  It felt kind of like we were targeted or  something but anyway... we survived.  Just before we boarded our Amsterdam flight, we were surprised to see James and Pauline Miller from Crossville, TN.  They were on their way to the Ukraine to visit Nathan and Polly. After we were on the plane we were delayed close to two hrs. There were some mechanical issues and then a lady a few seats ahead of us started having a seizure and they had to call rescue.  It took a long time to get all that taken care of.  They had to find her luggage and take it off the plane, etc. It was rather discouraging because we were stuck on the plane so much longer than we would've been otherwise but God gave grace and it was ok.  We had some bad turbulence on that flight though... it lasted quite a while and caused me to pray.  Thankfully our children didn't seem too worried so that helped.  Because our flight was so late we didn't have much time in Amsterdam. The last flight was uneventful but oh so long!!! :( We finally arrived in Nairobi and after getting off the HUGE jet we went down a staircase and then had to wait for a bus to take us to immigration. Things went well there but then it took a LONG time to get all our luggage (20 totes and suitcases) collected.  Everything came through except one tote.  We were thankful for that except for the fact that it happened to be a tote that had frozen stuff in it. :(  They flew the tote to Kisumu later and Wayne and Jason picked it up yesterday.  I kept the cheese and pepperoni but threw some other meat away.  We had a number of things that broke in transit.  All of the broken things were in totes that TSA (security) had dug through.  Some of our mottos had glass broken out of them and the most disappointing thing was my favorite Tupperware cereal keeper was shattered.  I have no idea how that happened!!  I guess I can get it replaced someday.  It was with great relief that we finally left the airport and headed for Hampton House.  Luke and Jamilla Kurtz arrived around the same time we did with 30 totes and 8 children.  The two mission vans that picked us and Lukes up were loaded down with luggage on top... it made quite a sight!!  Jason and Cynthia Beachy picked us up and Marcus and Wanda picked Lukes up.  We crashed at Hampton that night!  We slept very well... no pills needed!!!!  It was after 1:00 when we got to bed so it was another short night.  More later, Clara


Hi! Its me again!  I would be much further ahead in writing if I hadnt lost all that I wrote this morning. :(  For some reason I wasnt connected to internet while I was typing... but anyway, no use crying over spilled milk.  I forgot to mention in the last letter that I had been so concerned about making stress for Jasons because of our stupid mistake when we missed our flight.  I hated to think that we probably messed up their schedule badly but to my great relief they were delighted to have an extra day to spend in Nairobi.  All's well that ends well I guess.  After leaving Hampton House Jasons took us to Java House for a good breakfast.  Poor Vanessa wasnt feeling well... probably from all the travelling and fatigue.  She puked on the way to Kisumu. :(  We had to stop along the road to clean up the mess.  But thankfully she felt much better after that and was soon her normal self.  The sights and sounds on the way to Kisumu  were far from boring!! Oh how I wish you could see some of these amazing sights!! I love the cute little donkeys pulling carts loaded with grass and whatever else, people carrying loads on their heads, some crazy traffic maneuvers, zebras, baboons, some kind of deer, etc. I loved the baboons the most!  We stopped along the road where there were quite a few of them. It was so cute the way they hold their babies and I even saw one holding a piece of newspaper in his "hands".... looked like he was reading the paper! :)  We stopped at Lamp and Light a bit in Nakuru.  Ruth, I knew it would give you a bellyache if you knew where we were. :)  The home stretch in Kisumu is amazing... its a slummy part of town and FULL of people, shacks, piki pikis and tuk tuks.  Its hard to believe that all this poverty is right outside our gate. Makes a person feel guilty for having it so nice.  The compound where we live feels like such  haven after being outside in the throng.  The trip to Kisumu took close to 7 hrs. I think because of all the stops we made.  What a blessing to come "Home" and find Tony and Judith, Jamie and Ayla!  They gave us a grand welcome.  Someone had  a bouquet of beautiful roses on the table and a laminated welcome sign with pictures of all the families who live here.  It was fun to explore our house.  The rugs that we had sent over earlier were already on the floors and looked so nice. Its definitely very simple and there have been some big adjustments but God is good!  We have so much to be thankful for.  Becky Hostetler kindly made supper for us that evening and Judith made a few things too.  We ate at Tonys house and then joined the compound families for a snack.  They had a farewell for Marcellus Beachy that eve. and a welcome for us.  They stood together as families and introduced themselves to us.  We enjoyed the time with them but we were oh so tired and ready for bed early.  We slept pretty well and Sat. morning came too quickly.  Wayne and I were anxious to start unpacking our 18 totes and suitcases plus all our carry-ons.  I also had laundry to do.  Its taking me time to get used to this style of washing and it feels like it takes me SO long to get laundry done. :(  We worked long and hard and finally just at bedtime we finished putting the last of our stuff away... at least most of it.  It was a wonderful feeling but oh we were so tired again.  Sunday was our first day at the Lela church.  I was struck with the HUGE differences in the church here compared to the beautiful, clean, air conditioned church we enjoy at home.  We meet in a pavilion style structure and sit on backless benches.  Some of it felt like a test of endurance.  I stood behind the benches sometimes since my tailbone was still recuperating from all the sitting while we travelled around the globe.  The people were friendly but seemed a bit quiet and shy.  I guess it will take them a while to warm up to us and I had to learn how to greet them properly, etc. Cynthia taught me some Luo words which was helpful but it was hard for me to remember to "double cheek" the ladies when they greeted me by touching first one cheek and then the other.  Bradlyn's endurance was tested too and so while I was standing in the back he was sitting at my feet and playing in the dirt.  Church is definitely not a place to dress up in good clothes!  There were visitors from Nakuru at our service... Delores Mast and Kayla Yoder as well at Pastor Matthews and Jacob. (Mahlons they seemed to remember you.)  Matthews preached a good message but I dont see how he survived the heat... he was wearing a sweater vest and a suit coat!!  We took some visitors home with us and were packed in the van like sardines!  Oh how I missed air conditioning! For those who haven't heard we had an awesome surprise when we got home from church.  There was an adorable monkey on the roof of or house!! :)  It ran up the tree in our yard then and I ran into the house to get a banana.  Wayne whistled at him and showed him the banana and he came down fairly swiftly.  I started backing away cause I was scared he might jump on us.  Wayne threw th banana to him which he easily caught and peeled and started chowing down!  :)  I loved every minute and hope he will be back soon.  Marlin Weavers said he came down to their house later that day.  We enjoyed a good lunch of chicken, rice, and potatoes at Jasons house and then we "crashed" for a while.  Tonys invited us over Sun. eve. and Judith served us some yummy bread sticks.  Hopefully someday when we get our bearings we can serve them some meals at our house.That evening Tonys gave us a tour of the compound which was intersting.  Judith has been SO helpful!  I feel like I have to learn to cook all over again.  She shows me what good brand names of food are... the labels here look so different that I can't always figure out what it is.  Today was not a very good day.  I had so much trouble getting my stove to light and the toaster wouldn't cooperate.  It almost feels like more things don't work than do! We've had trouble with getting warm showers and I always wash dishes in cold water.  Marji saved the day for me when she sent us a loaf of fresh bread.  Oh what a blessing! I could hardly find stuff around here that my children would eat. I tried to force Bradlyn to eat what we had for breakfast but it almost made him puke so what do you do?  He filled up then on fresh bread.  I will need to find bread pans somewhere since there are none in  this house.  Maybe I will soon be back to baking bread.  Jasons took us out to the hospital this afternoon so I could get my heart pills.  Its so amazing the way they give these medications without a prescription!!  We went to the market then and oh what a sight!!  We had to wade through crowds and between buses... it was frightful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I certainly don't think I will be as adventursome as Cynthia.  She drives like a pro in crazy traffic and even takes tuk tuk or piki piki rides to the market.  Maybe someday.... but NOT YET!! Well its time to bring this epistle to a close. Tomorrow will be a long day.  Jasons plan to take us to the Lela area to meet as many church people in their homes as we can.  

  Many thanks for all your prayers!! And blessings to those who have e-mailed!! It means so much!  Hopefully someday I can personally write each of you.  Rosy and Ruth, we still don't have our list of contacts set up so would you please forward this to whoever you think would be interested.  Thanks!  Wayne might try to paste this on our blog too.  We love ya'll !  Clara